1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to carrying apparatus. More specifically, this invention relates to a towable bale carrying apparatus for large cylindrical hay bales and includes a main support frame having support arms which may be lowered to ground level, slid beneath one or more large hay bales and then raised to lift the bale or bales off of the ground for transporting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often advantageous to bale and store hay in large cylindrical bales of the type typically ranging from five to six feet in length and from six to seven feet in diameter. Such bales typically need not be stored indoors, and significantly reduce the time and expense involved in processing and handling the well-known small rectangular hay bales. The handling and transporting of such large cylindrical bales has posed very difficult problems due to the large size, the cylindrical shape and the heavy weight of the bales.
Various prior art devices have been developed to generally handle and carry large bulky objects. Such carrying devices typically include a wheeled trailer portion having a cargo bed which can be lowered at one end thereof to slidably or rollingly accept a cargo. While such devices have greatly facilitated loading of cargo onto the normally elevated cargo bed, the load to be carried must either be physically moved by its own power or by external means up the inclined surface of the tilted cargo bed and must be retainably held in that portion until the cargo bed is tilted back to its elevated transporting position. Typically, the load is pulled onto the cargo bed by means of a winch apparatus or the like, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,577,246 (Hill) and 3,012,682 (Williamson).
While the tiltable cargo bed apparatus has wide applicability to moving cargo in general, such apparatus is impractical and too costly for routinely handling and carrying large cylindrical hay bales. The physical properties of the large hay bale make it very difficult to safely and efficiently advance the bale up the inclined bed and to maintain its position thereon while the cargo bed is being restored to its elevated transporting position. Further, with the use of such apparatus, it becomes virtually impossible to load and carry more than one such large bale at a time. In addition, a force imparting vehicle such as a tractor which is physically separate from the towing vehicle is generally required to slide the bale unto the cargo bed. Besides being generally impractical, due to the cylindrical shape and heavy weight of such bales, movement of large bales on such flat cargo bed apparatus can be dangerous to work with should a bale roll off of the cargo bed.
Prior art bale lifting and handling apparatus has been designed for specifically handling such large cylindrical bales, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,595 (Edelman). Such special-purpose bale handling apparatus typically includes a cradle mechanism and clamping means for securely engaging and lifting single bales by grasping the bales along their outer circumference. While such apparatus specifically address the large bale handling and transporting problem, they are cumbersome to use and enable handling and transporting of only one bale at a time.